Main menu

Mike Salinas has competed sporadically in the NHRA’s Top Fuel class since 2011. Photo by Ron Lewis

NHRA Top Fuel Racer Mike Salinas Is the Ultimate Scrapper

Starts first full-time season this year

February 9, 2018

Share

Facebook

Tweet

Pinterest

Email

Mike Salinas, who owns a scrap-metal and garbage-hauling company in San Jose, California, means business this season.

He has competed sporadically in the NHRA’s Top Fuel class since 2011, but he is going full time in his Scrappers Dragster this year.

And he has one not-so-secret weapon: reigning and 12-time Top Fuel champion crew chief Alan Johnson.

His strong-willed approach, a handful of 2017 races to whip himself and his volunteer crew into shape, tuning advice from Johnson, and parts from the master manufacturer are paying off. Salinas used a 3.764-second elapsed time at 326.71 mph on the Auto Club Raceway 1,000-foot course to claim the provisional No. 4 berth early Friday in qualifying for the season-opening Lucas Oil Winternationals at Pomona, California. He slipped to sixth place in the second session but remained in position with two final Saturday qualifying chances to earn lane choice for eliminations Sunday.

That put him ahead of Leah Pritchett, Terry McMillen, Scott Palmer, Richie Crampton, Terry Haddock, Steve Faria and Brittany Force in the lineup that’s three entries short of a full field of 16.

Crew chief Doug Kuch said Friday that Johnson is “really turning the screws and putting us on the right track.”

Johnson is doing double duty as tuning guru for newly crowned Top Fuel champion Brittany Force. Before that he won pro titles with Gary Scelzi, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Del Worsham, and Shawn Langdon. And Salinas wants to add his name to the elite list.

Being in the top tier is a huge leap for a first-time full-time racer, but that’s what Salinas has set as his goal.

“We’re just trying to get this thing to where we can run competitively, because if we can’t run competitively, there’s no use in coming out,” he said. “[NHRA drag racing] accommodates everybody, and, you know, we tried it a few different ways, and it did not work. It did not work in every way we tried. And we came out to run competitively and do whatever we can do. But now we’re ready to run.”

If Friday’s performance is an accurate indication, Salinas is well on his way.